As the Indiana Fever’s hopes of going ahead of Round 1 have ended, the team is looking to rebuild, which might involve a certain Fever star to leave the team. Despite the chances of Kelsey Mitchell exiting the team, the Fever stars Caitlin Clark, Lexie Hull, Aliyah Boston, and Erica Wheeler have showered their praises on the 28-year-old via Instagram on Monday.

Mitchell had posted a series of photos from the Indianapolis-based franchise’s season this year and had written a caption talking about her year that looked to be full of ebbs and flows for her. Taking note of the same, her teammates swiftly came to cheer her up as Clark commented “proud of ya ❤️.”

A similar emotion was displayed by Hull who wrote “Lots of love for you!! ❤️❤️❤️.” Adding to the same sentiment, Boston enumerated, “Agent zerooooo❤️❤️ the best leader.” Meanwhile, Wheeler expressed, “Thank you for allowing me in dawg! ❤️ Shit deeper than this 🏀!You one hell of a human! One day you gotta share your story gang! Shit will inspire folks! Pops proud of you!”

The 28-year-old in the caption had written about the setback she faced this year. “i got low. shedded tears nobody saw. got my back dirty just to make it. threw all my cards on the table. trusted GOD to save myself. guaranteed my best. willing and able, forever dying on my own sword,” Mitchell wrote. Notably, the Fever guard lost her father this year in March. To top that, the Indiana-based franchise couldn’t advance ahead of the Round 1 playoffs, which would have certainly impacted her. All this probably got her to drop hints of exiting the franchise after 6 years.

Mitchell was drafted by the Indiana Fever as the second overall pick in 2018. Since that time, the Fever has been in a rebuilding phase. But the Ohio-born’s performance peaked this season as she presented probably the best backcourt in the W this year. However, when the Fever had to exit from the WNBA playoffs, reflecting on her season, Mitchell revealed, “It’s definitely a lot of emotions and thoughts that flow through my mind. I think everything for me is so fresh, I don’t know what I need and what I’m gonna do.” Combined with the fact that Mitchell’s contract will end this year and she will be in free agency from here on, field speculations of her exiting from the franchise are prominent.

Labeling herself selfish, 2018’s number two pick had opined, “But I know that when the time comes and the opportunity for me to make those decisions…Obviously, I’ve always had a home in Indy, so it could potentially be a home for me again. But I think right now the switching dynamic of my family and everything, I gotta do what’s the best for me. I gotta be selfish about that process.” Hopefully, she will be soon able to make a decision for her future. Meanwhile, if she exits, then it will mean a tough season for the Indiana fans.

Kelsey Mitchell’s partnership with Caitlin Clark

The Indiana Fever was having a tough season up until the Olympics break. But after a late resurgence from Clark and Mitchell, it was a thing of the past for the Fever. The Fever from there on changed their tally from 11-15 to 20-20. And a lot of credit goes to Mitchell for it. While Clark dominated with her assists and scoring, Mitchell assumed the role of an alpha in games where the Iowa alumna would play the second fiddle. Her 36-point performance against the Dallas Wings in September will always be remembered for saving the Fever timely during the game. Overall, she averaged 23.4 points per game after the Olympics break. Therefore, if Mitchell were to leave, then the Fever would once again find themselves in backcourt troubles.

Considering that Clark would continue with the Fever, they will have to look for another guard in any of their new recruits. According to the ESPN mock draft 2025, the Fever can draft UCLA’s Janiah Barker. While Barker is known for her post display, she can be an able partner to Clark in terms of scoring and making way when Clark is guarded.

But the Fever fans as of now will be hoping that Mitchell doesn’t leave the Fever, as it was after 2016 that the team made it to the playoffs this season. Hoping Clark too will come forward to share her perspective on the rumors.